Hands-On: BlackBerry Storm

WiFi vs 3G -- am I missing something?

The only thing missing is WiFi, but with so much 3G love, this is one of the few times we almost buy Verizon's argument that WiFi would be redundant.

I realize that 3G provides excellent coverage and speed, but I do not understand why people (besides Verizon) believe having WiFi would be redundant. If I'm sitting at home or in a local cafe that has WiFi, why would I want to use 3G and have to pay for the amount I download rather than take advantage of the free WiFi. Like I said, I totally understand Verizon wanting you to use 3G instead so they make money, but how can an outsider say its just as good to use 3G.

W/ BB on VZW you are required to have the data plan and they are billed in KB not MB (you are on Americas Choice in which you are the exception billed for mins)

I am a VZW lover but I agree the wi-fi would be nice for a few reasons:1) What else can VZW haters complain about?2) Be nice to use for extra speed even though 3G is fast3) Since the data plan is required, and if I have the unlimited data, VZW loses no money and instead the people using the wi-fi would free up space on the Network for those using 3G increasing customer satisfaction all the way around.

Lack of WiFi is a deal breaker for me. Although I am a VZW fan, I expect a phone of this quality to have built in WiFi. GSM BB's have it but, thanks to Verizon's greed, they have disabled WiFi on all their BB's and their phones. I believe that the Moto Q9m takes a WiFi card in the Mini memory slot but unless they release a WiFi version, I won't be buying it.......................

explain to me who its verizon's greed? Im so sick of people bashing verizon over prices. their prices are the same as att and their phones are much more capable and their network is better.

RIM took off wifi, that was not a verizon choice. And any place you can get wifi, chances are you can get EVDO. If its a "deal breaker" then get over yourself and go have fun using a sub par phone on a sub par network (eg: iphone).

... GSM BB's have it but, thanks to Verizon's greed, they have disabled WiFi on all their BB's and their phones. ...

That's simply not true.

I really don't think Verizon has anything against WiFi, they just don't have their own WiFi network, so they have no reason to push that feature.

The high-end Windows Mobile devices have WiFi, such as the Samsung i760 (and i730 before it) and the HTC 6800 (and 6700 before it). So if the manufacturer wants to put it in, clearly Verizon will allow it.

It is not trivial to build an extra radio and antenna into a phone. There's a lot of costly and time-consuming engineering involved. So the notion that the Storm has WiFi and it's been disabled is absur...(continues)

I saw no mention of a 700mzH radio in this device so even if Verizon builds out LTE in two plus years I highly doubt this device in its current incarnation will be capable of accessing LTE. Of course, future variants would likely include LTE.

People forget that economics play a role when building a phone. Nothing is Pro-Consumer, if it cost the company money with little or nothing to gain, they won't do it.

AT&T/T-Mobile rely on Wi-Fi due to lack luster coverage on they're high speed internet (Whether because of cell tower or cost). AT&T invested a ton of money for Wi-Fi at hotels/airports. T-mobile Wi-Fi has been they're flag ship a while back so they NEED they're phones to have Wi-Fi.

Verizon/Sprint never had an issue with Wi-Fi because they invested so much into the network. So why would RIM or any other manufactor spend time and money on it if the buyer (the carrier) doesn't really provide it?

Finally I've used ENV2 for work for a little while now, 3G h...(continues)

Since this is a competitor to the iPhone 3G lets take somethings into consideration.

iPhone 3G works it's 3G magic in about 40% of the US Population and you still have to pay the $30 3G data plan not matter how you connect or where you are located. You could live in a 3G-less city(there are alot of them), use wifi or EDGE all day long but have to pay $10 more then the 1st Gen iPhone that does the same thing for you.

Moving on.... Prior Blackberry GSM models came in 3 flavors Regular, With GPS, or With Wifi. There isn't a GSM 3G Blackberry in the US because there isn't much of a GSM 3G network. So if you needed a faster GSM Blackberry, then a GSM wifi Blackberry or a CDMA Blackberry are your only options. CDMA 3G networks have been arou...(continues)

What you're missing is femtocell. I'll lay down good money that and EVDO femtocell is less then 6 months away from hitting the market on VZW. It makes a lot more sense for the company to market femtocells which improve voice AND data coverage indoors then to add a WiFi chip to every data capable device for improved data-only coverage.

Femtocells are the mobile wave of the future. WiFi just isn't a cellular technology. It's not right for phones.

I used two iPhone 3Gs and my LG Dare in an area with low signal. I set the iPhones to run WiFi off a 6 Mbps Cable, and the Dare... well, Verizon EVDO. All three phones performed the same. That's right, my little Dare was hammering out the websites just as fast as the iPhone 3G running off the WiFi with 6 times the bandwidth available! The iPhone people can flash me with all the gidgets and gadgets the iPhone has, but it's the little Dare does the job without a fuss.